Hundreds detained as Kazakhstan votes for president
June 9, 2019
The presence of long-time leader Nursultan Nazarbayev looms large over elections in Kazakhstan, as his handpicked successor admitted Nazarbayev still exerted power. Some 500 people were detained for protesting.
Image: Reuters/P. Mikheyev
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Police in Kazakhstan clamped down on unauthorized protests, detaining about 500 people as the country went to the polls on Sunday.
"There were attempts to organize illegal demonstrations and disturb the peace in the cities of Almaty and Nur-Sultan," a senior Interior Ministry official said in comments carried by state news agency Kazinform. Three police officers were reportedly injured.
Protesters called for boycotting the presidential election, which they believe serves to keep long-reigning Nursultan Nazarbayev in power from behind the scenes.
The country's interim president, 66-year-old Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is expected to win over his six little-known rivals on Sunday.
Strongman Nazarbayev backed oil-rich Tokayev as his sucessor while announcing his own departure in March. But the 78-year-old Nazarbayev, who holds the official title of Yelbasy, or national leader, and continues to run the ruling Nur Otan party, remains the power behind the throne.
After voting early on Sunday morning, former prime minister and foreign minister Tokayev told reporters, in English, that Nazarbayev "was still in power in the capacity of chairman of the security council ... and other capacities."
Among the candidates standing against Tolayev is Dania Yespayeva, Kazakhstan's first female presidential candidate.
Activists have risked imprisonment protesting the poll in a country where demonstrations are all but outlawed.
Asya Tulesova was detained for two weeks after unfurling a banner during a rally. "We see that rallies are formally permitted but in reality [prohibited]," she said.
"The internet is often blocked. So citizens have no ability to express their opinion other than through creative actions," she added.
Tokayev pledged his administration would be "building up a dialogue with all those who support the government and those who are against the government."
Observers monitoring
No Kazakh vote has yet been recognized as fully democratic by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has sent more than 300 observers to monitor Sunday's election.
Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a free-trade bloc that also includes Russia and Belarus.
Forbes magazine ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful person of 2016 - followed by US President-elect Donald Trump. This picture gallery shows different aspects of Putin's personality.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
From KGB to Kremlin
Putin joined the KGB, the former Soviet Union's security agency, in 1975. In the 1980s he undertook his first foreign posting as a KGB agent to Dresden, Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Putin returned to Russia and entered Boris Yeltsin's Kremlin. When Yeltsin announced that he wanted Putin as his successor, the way was paved for him to become prime minister.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M.Klimentyev
First presidency
On his appointment, Putin was virtually unknown to the general public. This changed when in August 1999 armed men from Chechnya invaded the neighboring Russian territory of Dagestan. President Yeltsin appointed ex-KGB officer Putin to bring Chechnya back under the central government's control. On New Year's Eve, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and named Putin as acting president.
Image: picture alliance/AP Images
Tough guy in the media
During an exhibition hockey game in Sochi, Putin’s team won 18-6, with the president scoring eight goals.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/A. Nikolsky
Limited freedom of speech
A protester wears a tape over his mouth reading "Putin" during an opposition rally. In 2013 the Kremlin announced that the state-owned news agency, RIA Novosti, was to be restructured and placed under the control of a pro-Kremlin figure known for his extreme anti-Western views. Reporters without Borders ranked Russia as 148 in its list of 178 countries in terms of press freedom.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V.Maximov
Putin's Image: A man of action
Putin's image as a man of action, boosted by his having been a KGB spy, has long been part of his appeal in Russia. It is carefully maintained by means of photos where he is seen bare-chested on horseback, or tossing opponents onto a judo mat. In Russia, Putin has earned praise for restoring stability but has also been accused of authoritarianism.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Nikoskyi
Stifling democracy
When President Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in 2007, critics described the vote as neither free nor democratic. Dozens were detained as riot police broke up protests by demonstrators accusing President Putin of stifling democracy. In this rally the poster reads: "Thank you, no!"
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y.Kadobnov
Orchestrated events
In Sevastopol, Crimea, Putin looks through the window of a research bathyscaphe in the waters of the Black Sea. This dive in a mini-submarine was only one of his adventurous stunts; he has also been seen tranquilizing wild tigers and flying with endangered cranes. It was also aimed at cementing his image as an adventurer, and demonstrating his control of the annexed territory of Crimea.
